Elections in NB: health, number one priority for Tracadie seniors | New Brunswick Elections 2024

Seniors from the Acadian Peninsula expressed their concerns to the three candidates in the Tracadie-Sheila riding ahead of the October 21 election.

One theme stood out at the top of seniors’ priorities during the event organized by the Age-Friendly Municipality committee and the Tracadie University of the Third Age: health care.

Health is the number one concernsays Oscar Melanson, originally from Scoudouc, in the southeast of the province, but who has lived in Tracadie for around forty years. I think it’s a question of seeking some stability. We realize that there are many people who do not have a family doctor.

We hear statistics, figures here and there. But I am convinced that there is room for improvement in health care.

The issue of health is a source of anxiety among many seniors, according to Albertine Basque.

There are many people in hospitals waiting for a place in a care homeshe notes. That’s worrying too.

Deforestation and bilingualism

Carman Godin, for his part, says he is concerned about the deforestation desired by Fredericton of part of the old Tracadie shooting range to establish new blueberry fields.

The forest is destroyed and it really hurts my heartshe says. I like development, I like that it creates jobs. But it seems to me that we sometimes go too far.

His brother, Jean-Robert Godin, asks candidates and elected officials from all regions of the province to address important questions, even if they seem thorny.

There are matters like bilingualism; They don’t want to touch thathe thinks. It’s a hot potato. But, there needs to be transparency.

Several seniors emphasize that they are lucky to be able to choose between three candidates known and respected in the region: the outgoing MP, the Liberal Keith Chiasson, the Green Party candidate Serge Brideau and the Progressive Conservative Gertrude McLaughlin.